Optoelectronic switching of addressable molecular crossbar junctions

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates reversible optoelectronic switching in molecular crossbar junctions with high on/off ratios, influenced mainly by temperature and interface chemistry, using a polymer stamp-printing fabrication method.

Contribution

It reports the first observation of optoelectronic switching in addressable molecular junctions fabricated via polymer stamp-printing, highlighting the role of molecule/electrode interface chemistry.

Findings

Reversible switching with up to 1000x on/off ratio at 95 K.

Switching behavior is independent of optical wavelength and molecular structure.

Temperature and interface chemistry significantly affect switching performance.

Abstract

This letter reports on the observation of optoelectronic switching in addressable molecular crossbar junctions fabricated using polymer stamp-printing method. The active medium in the junction is a molecular self-assembled monolayer softly sandwiched between gold electrodes. The molecular junctions are investigated through currentvoltage measurements at varied temperature (from 95 to 300 K) in high vacuum condition. The junctions show reversible optoelectronic switching with the highest on/off ratio of 3 orders of magnitude at 95 K. The switching behavior is independent of both optical wavelength and molecular structure, while it strongly depends on the temperature. Initial analysis indicates that the distinct binding nature of the molecule/electrode interfaces play a dominant role in the switching performance.